Muppets.

The Muppets Christmas Carol is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  I love EVERY song in the movie.  This one is my favorite today.  I hope you enjoy. 

Life is full of sweet surpises

Everyday's a gift
The sun comes up and I can feel it lift my spirit
Fills me up with laughter, fills me up with song
I look into the eyes of love and know that I belong

Bless us all, who gather here
The loving family I hold dear
No place on earth, compares with home
And every path will bring me back from where I rome

Bless us all, that as we live
We always comfort and forgive
We have so much, that we can share
With those in need we see around us everywhere

Let us always love eachother
Lead us to the light
Let us hear the voice of reason, singing in the night
Let us run from anger and catch us when we fall
Teach us in our dreams and please, yes please
Bless us one and all

Bless us all with playful years
With noisy games and joyful tears
We reach for you and we stand tall
And in our prayers and dreams
We ask You bless us all

We reach for You and we stand tall
And in our prayers and dreams we ask You

Bless us all

Dad and Mad's excellent adventure

Daddy and Maddi had themselves a very excellent adventure. Very excellent indeed. My dad and I drove my car from Utah to California. Yes, my car is here for good. And so am I. We made the drive in a day and quite enjoyed ourselves, stopping in St. George and Las Vegas. The ride was very relaxing until we got on the LA freeways. Thank goodness my dad was driving! (I still have not ventured out onto the freeways. I stick to the four side streets that I know.)

Dad was here for 2 wonderful, but short days. Activities included: bike ride on the strand, breakfast at the beach, trips to Ikea, Griffiths Park, Beveryly Hills, 3rd St. Promenade, Brownies with the Bells, and early morning walks.

 

I am so glad that my dad was able to come out and see where we will be living.  I have always known that my dad is an AMAZING man, but this trip really showed me how lucky I am.  He is generous, kind, honest, patient, hardworking, and clever.  I have the best dad in the world.  No contest.

Plus, he could totally beat-up your dad. 

Thanksgiving

I know its been a while, and boy have we been BUSY!  I am finally in California with the hubby and we are settling in to our new place.  But lets not get ahead of ourselves here... I still have a TON to post about before we get carried away with California and Thanksgiving is the perfect place to start. 

We had an AMAZING Thanksgiving in Colorado with my family.  We had so much fun - here is our highlight list.

1. We got to be together again!!  Thanksgiving marked the end our our little "separation."  No more long distance for us! and no more BYU for me!

2. We helped Cass with her Support the Troops efforts.  She does such an amazing job working to support her hubby and the other troops who so bravely serve our country.  Steff, Eric, and I helped her put together Holiday packages for troops over seas. 

3. We ate a fabulous Thanksgiving meal with the Mills clan.  It was so good to be home and to see everyone that I miss so much.

 4. We went bowling with our favorite people.

Crazy kids.

5. We celebrated my birthday at the country club where we had our wedding reception. 

My mom made the best chocolate cake.

6. We went on a bike ride to work off all the delicious food we ate.  (Sorry, no picture)

7. I got to spend some time with my Sonnyboy.  

He has the best table manners.

Overall, it was a really fabulous trip home.  And much needed. Of all the places in the whole entire world, home really is my favorite place to be.  

Catch-Up

Is this challenge over yet?  I am not good at it.  Here is more catch-up.

Day 21- A picture of something that makes me happy

My husband is a movie star.  That makes me laugh.

Day 22 - What makes me different from everyone else

Go here to see for yourself. 

Day 23 - Something I crave a lot.

Magleby's chocolate cake.  Heaven.

Day 24 - A letter to my parents.

I will do this one at a later date.  They are fantastic and deserve something great.

Day 25- My purse.

It's a mess. I can't ever find anything in it.  I guess I am my mother's daughter.

Day 26 - What do I think about my friends?

I think they are pretty great - thats why they are my friends.

Day 27 - Why I am doing this challenge?

Thats a GOOD QUESTION????? I don't know!! I don't like it but I can't quit. I wont quit.

Day 28 - Only two more days.  Thank the heavens.

Mrs. Cercy

Day 20... the person who I want to marry.  Well, that's a fairly obvious one, so let's skip it and move on to my dear friend Mrs. Cassie Cercy. She is a very special person in my life and today is her birthday. Cass and I have been friends since the 7th grade and have so many memories together. See below:

Cassie  is such an important part of my life - she has been such a strength and support to me for the last 10 years and I know she will continue to be for a very long time.  She is definately a forever friend, and I am grateful for her.  Happy Birthday Love!

This is her husband.  He is currently serving our country in Afghanastan.  Please say a prayer for his safety. 

17-19

Here I am playing catch-up again.  Why am I so bad at this??? Well, for one thing - I don't like people telling me what to blog about. I am defiant like that.  BUT... I started this blog challenge and I'm sticking to it.  So, here are the last few days.

17- Someone I want to switch lives with for a day.
Surprisingly, this is an easy one and it comes down to a tie.  I would gladly switch lives with these two wonderful women.  Do I really need to explain why?  Not only are they beautiful, but they are smart, strong, and independent women. 

1. Carrie Underwood

Her music is so inspiring and she has great hair. 



 2. Shakira



Have you seen her dance??  Unbelievable.  Also, she speaks 5 languages.



18 - Dreams, Plans, Goals

Well besides the obvious of rasing a strong and happy family, I love working with teenaged kids.  I think I would ultimately love to work with ESL students to help them learn English.

Oh, and I want to see India.  And by see India, I mean go there.

 And meet Tim McGraw. I would like that.  A Lot.

19 - Nicknames

Eric is famous for giving people nicknames and when we first started dating I was bugged because I was literally the only person in the whole world that he didn't have a nickname for. He said he was waiting for the perfect nickname and that I couldn't just have any nickname.  It had to be a special one. Well, now gives me a new nickname everytime he talks to me.  He rarely calls me by my name, or anything close to it actually. (I guess the novelty of a special nickname has worn off). The one nickname of his that has stuck is Sweeney and it was actually the first nickname he ever gave me, yep the special one.  It's from a song called Miss Sweeney by the band Weezer, its one of our songs.   

I've had a lot of other nicknames over the years - but the most common are: Mad Dog, Mads, and Moos.



Vintage

Day 16... a picture of me. 

I decided to go vintage.  This is me and Chelsea in High School.  Chelsea is my sister friend.  We prbably should have been sisters... twins, actually.  We commonly get asked if we are twins and people are shocked to find out that we aren't even related. 

But sometimes we tell people are :)

Aren't we pretty????

Fall/Thanks

I'm vetoing the day 15 topic - The first 10 songs that play on my shuffle.  I can't find my Ipod.

But I will tell you about one of my favorite things.... walking in the crunchy fall leaves.  I love hearing the rustle of the leaves underneath my feet and feeling the cool fall air on my face.  Fall is my favorite time of the year.  I will miss it when I go to California.  But then again... I would rather have Eric. 

Thanks for all of your votes!! I'm actually more confused now than I was before - you are all so fashion savy! I will let you know which dress I choose.  

Days 10-14

Slacking again.... and to tell you the truth I don't like the topics for days 10-14, so I took a vote and we are going to skip them and move on to more important matters.... I need your help!!!

Eric's company is having a fancy Christmas party and I need a dress!!!  Sure I have plenty of dresses, but nothing that I can wear to a formal holiday party. I've been looking online for some ideas and let me tell you something.... It is SO HARD to find a modest cocktail dress that does not look like mormon prom.... thank goodness for the people at Shabby Apple who understand the pain of being fashionably modest. What do you think about these dresses?  Please let me know what your vote is!!!

Dress 1.... Classy, and I basically just LOVE it.  But is it fancy enough?  I want it to be fancy enough. 

Dress 2:  Um LOVE that collar.  This is a very fun dress, but could I pull it off?

Dress 3:  I think everyone needs a dress like this one. Timeless. Perfect. 

And finally... Dress 4:  Something about this dress really intrigues me.  I think its the lace.  I love lace. 

Leave your vote in a comment.... also, any more ideas of places that I should look???  HELP!

Day 9

Something I am proud of in the last few days...(I'm gonna go ahead and take the liberty to extend this to something I am proud of in the last few months.) 

I am actually really proud of myself for the work that I have been doing with my student teaching.  I was nervous about my decision to stay in Utah without Eric to complete my education, but I am confident that we made the right decision.  It has been a HUGE sacrifice and it is a lot of work, but here is why it has all been worth it.

1) I honestly LOVE it. How many people are excited to go to work every day?  I am.  

2) I feel like I am good at it. 

3) Other people think that I am good at it   

4) My students are so fun!

I am so grateful to be able to do something that I love, and relieved to find that I actually do love teaching. I have always loved learning and I hope that I will always be a lifelong learner,so teaching is the perfect career for me. I  am so blessed to have the opportunity work with kids.  I get so excited when I see them light up with the desire to learn and watch the lightbulbs go on.   I am glad that I have chosed a profession where I can show my students the world and their potential to change it.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

                                          -Ghandi

Day 8

Short term goals for this month
1. Finish my Teacher Work Sample (death)
2. Blog challenge
3. Make a cute Christmas craft
4. Paint the apartment
5. Finish reading the New Testament (just started Revelations)

Here is another picture from our Vegas vacation last weekend.

P.S.

P.S.  I found this video today and I love it.  LOVE it.

Day 7

Look who's blogging on Day 7.  You doubted me, didn't you?  Today's blogging topic- Someone who has made an impact in my life.  How fitting that this day falls on November 2.  My favorite day of the year!  This just happens to be the birthday of three of my favorite people.  How lucky am I that I get to celebrate three wonderful people in one day?!  Happy Birthday Jack, Jill, and Mal.  I love you all!!!  Thanks so much for being such an important part of my life!

Me and Jackie Good Boy

Me and Jill on the most epic of nights

The beautiful Mallory

Loser.

I am a Loser....So far, I have failed miserable on my blogging challenge.  I'm sorry, I know you have been checking and anxiously awaiting my next post.  In my defense, I have been quite busy with school and vacationing in the beautiful Saint George.  So, here are the last five days in a nutshell. 

Day 2 - The Meaning behind my blog name
Well, if you can't figure out the meaning behind my blog name then shame on you.  I'm not that creative so I defaulted to The Bells.  If you have any fabulous names, you may sumbit them for consideration. 

Day 3 - A Picture of me and my friends
Luckily, I was vacationing on Day 3 of my blog challenge and was able to take a picture of me and my fabulous friends.  Here we are in Las Vegas.  We rode the Bigshot on top of the Stratosphere.  It pretty much blew my mind. I recommend you go. 

Day 4 - A habit I wish I didn't have
Procrastination.  For some reason I like to wait til the last possible minute to get things done.  One day, I will change that. 

Day 5 - A picture of somewhere I have been
I have been a lot of wonderful places.  Here are three of my favorites....

Cordoba, Spain.  Para chupar los dedos. 

Samana, Dominican Republic.   Baby te quiero whoa whoa.

Colorado.  Perfect.

Day 6 - Favorite superhero and why
Hmmmm,  Thats a good one.  I'm going to go with..... MY DAD!!  Cheesy, I know.  But he's pretty good at being the best daddy in the world.

Well, there ya go.  I'm all caught up..... for now.  I'll be better at this.  I promise. 

Day 1

Day 1 and I already almost forgot.... my dear brother Jack reminded me of my challenge.  This might be harder than I thought.  So here goes Day 1.... 15 facts about me and a recent photo. 

That is the most recent photo of me/us.  Taken about a month ago in Hermosa. 

1. Colorado born and raised.  I miss my home!

2. I've been married for just over a year now and we've had a blast!

3.  I have the most AMAZING family every. I am so blessed.

4.  Hablo espanol.

5. I love love love the snow.

6. I also enjoy baked goods.  Probably more than I should.

7.  In 5th grade I broke my elbow. 

8. I like to snuggle

9. I'm mormon. 

10. I want to go to India.

11.  I'm not sure what my natural hair color is.

12.  I don't handle stress very well.

13.  I try to look on the bright side of things.

14.  I like to laugh. 

15. I like to hold Eric's hand. 

Challenge

So I know that my blog has been seriously lacking in entertainment points lately.  Not that our lives are completely boring right now, but I figure you don't want to hear stories about my 13 year old friends every day and well, that about all I have to blog about.  In order to remedy by blogging problem, I have decided to take the 30 day blog challenge.  I will blog everyday (in theory) and you will all love it.  A couple of my friends have started a similar blog challenge and I have enjoyed learning more about them, so I am going to join in. 

Here is my tentative blogging schedule.  (I reserve the right to change any topics depending on my mood of the day.)

Blogging Challenge:

Day 01 - A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02 - The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 03 - A picture of you and your friends
Day 04 - A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05 - A picture of somewhere you’ve been
Day 06 - Favorite super hero and why
Day 07 - A picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
Day 08 - Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09 - Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11 - Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12 - How you found out about blogs and why you made one
Day 13 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14 - A picture of you and your family
Day 15 - Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16 - Another picture of yourself
Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18 - Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19 - Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20 - Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22 - What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23 - Something you crave a lot
Day 24 - A letter to your parents
Day 25 - What I would find in your purse
Day 26 - What you think about your friends
Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28 - A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29 - In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30 - Who are you?



I start tomorrow - please stay tuned. 

Glued

For the past 24 hours I have been glued to the TV watching the rescue of the 33 miners in Chile. I have literally watched more TV in the last 24 hours than I have in the past two months (about 17 hours to be exact) stopping only to sleep. Yes, I even watched the live coverage in school, while I was teaching.  Lucky for me I teach Spanish and I can get away with stuff like that. I don't know why I have been so captivated by this story of survival, but watching those miners be reunited with their families was really very touching.  I could watch people who are that happy all day (and I did.) They reminded me that the strength of the human spirit is truly remarkable.  I admire the miners, their families, and the rescuers for their faith and endurance.  Thank you for teaching us about the power of hope and perserverance. 

No me gustan hombres femenine.

For those of you who don't know, I'm currently doing my student teaching for my Spanish teaching major in Spanish Fork Jr. High.  I gave my students the assignment of creating their own personal profiles.  In their profile they could include any information about themselves that they wanted.  I laughed out loud when I read one student's profile.  We will call her E.  It read:

"No me gustan hombres femenine." 

Despite the fact that her statement is not exactly grammatically correct, I loved it.  It made my day.  Middle school students are extremely entertaining.  I think everyone should know one. 

Gems

I recently stumbled upon these Gems.   Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 

What I should have said

I have been blessed (cursed?) with the inability to say what I want to say when I want to say it. The following scenario has happened more than once in my lifetime, most recently this afternoon. 

Person A says something rude and ignorant. 

Person B (me) says nothing.  Simply turns the other cheek and ignores said ignorant comment, cringing at Person  A's bad manners.

THEN, after the fact, I can think of exactly what I wanted/should have said to Person A.  What I should have said to Person A, for example was....

Excuse me, but who are you to judge another person's situation and assume that your current condition/situation is better than the next?  I know it might be hard to come down from the pedestal that you have so humbly placed yourself on, but the truth is that you are NOT always right.  Your ways are NOT always the best ways, and NO ONE wants to hear your two cents about everything.  You mentioned the quality of selflessness.  If you weren't so close-minded, you would know that selflessness means sacrificing your own iterests for the greater good.  The tricky part of actually practicing selflessness is knowing what the greater good is. This requires looking past the here and now and understanding that what may be best for you is not what is best for another person.  Also, it is impossible for you to decide what is or isn't best for another person and his/her family.  The great thing about the Gospel is that Heavenly Father allows us to make our own decisions and choose our own paths.  If we prayerfully make these decisions and listen to the promptings of the Spirit, he will guide us in the right direction. YOU (Person A) are actually NOT part of that process, nor do you have the right to judge the decisions and sacrifices of another person. Usually, the best things require the greatest sacrifices and are therefore the hardest decisions we will ever make. Instead of making rude comments, you might consider supporting those around you in the decisions that they have made.  As far as I see it, the only difference between you are those students that you complain about (you know the ones without the filters between their brains and their mouths) is that you raise your hand before you talk. 

Maybe one day I will actually say what I want to say when I want to say it.  Maybe its a good thing that I never can.  Either way, I wish some people weren't so quick to judge another.  We would all be much better off... life is hard enough without the negative criticism of those around us.  Can't we just all love each other?

A Sunday Thought

“Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!”

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The Dunes.

Earlier this month we went to the sand dunes on the Oregon Coast with the whole Comcast crew.  We had a blast camping, riding the 4-wheelers, playing games, eating smores, and bbqing. 

Beautiful sunset

We all slept in this trailer.  Marty snored all night and Eric stole my covers. 

They are probably still picking the sand out of their teeth after this ride.

I was so cold.... I stuck by the fire most of the time.

Moments before Jason hurt his foot on our homemade zip line. 

Tim is the BBQ master

On our way home we stopped at the Tillamook cheese factory.  We tasted cheese and ate yummy ice cream. 

It was a great way to end our summer up in Portland. And even though there were a whole lot of boys up there, I had a great time this summer and I loved Portland.  I would go back anytime (but probably not as the wife of a summer salesman).